Joshua Alvin Culibao (born May 24, 1994) is an Australian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

The youngest of 4 siblings in a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

family, with his mother from

Boracay Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Aklan ...

while his father is from

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tar ...

, he was given the nickname "Kuya", a familial term used in a respectful manner to address an older male relative, brother, or friend, by his teammates at the Sydney-based Igor MMA, since he calls everyone in the gym by the Filipino kin endearment. Having practised

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

in his childhood, Culibao eventually started training mixed martial arts in order to lose weight in his adolescent years. Before signing with the UFC, Culibao was a full-time electrician doing 40-plus-hour workweeks with training on top.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional MMA career in 2016, Culibao compiled a perfect 8-0 record on the regional Australian scene, capturing three titles during this time. He won his debut at Superfight MMA 2 on February 19, 2016 by stopping Paul Traish in the first round via TKO. He would win his next two fights in the Urban Fight Night promotion; winning via majority decision against Brad Shortland at UFN 7 on May 7, 2016 and via TKO against Simon Arentz at UFN 8 on August 27, 2016. Culibao would fight his next two bouts in the Hex Fight Series promotion, winning the HEX Featherweight Championship against Raphael Berthet at HFS 7 after dropping his with a body shot and finishing him with soccer kicks. He defended this title at HFS 8 against Jordan Cameron, who he beat in a close bout via split decision. After returning to Urban Fight Nights for one bout which he won via majority decision against James McGlashan, Culibao won the DFC Featherweight Championship against Rodolfo Marques at DFC 7 on November 10, 2018 via head kick and ground and pound. He would then capture the Superfight MMA Featherweight championship against Josh Payne at Superfight MMA 10 on March 1, 2019, winning the bout via TKO in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Culibao signed with the UFC in February 2020 to replace

Jamie Mullarkey Jamie Mullarkey (born 17 August 1994) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Mullarkey grew up in Central Coast area, attending Erina High School. He beg ...

on short notice against

Jalin Turner Jalin Turner (born 18 May 1995) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the lightweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2016, he has also competed for Bellator MMA, the World Series of Fighting, King of the Cage, a ...

at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker on February 23, 2020. He lost the fight via second-round knockout. He made his sophomore appearance against

Charles Jourdain Charles Jourdain (born November 27, 1995) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Featherweight division. He was previously a TKO Major League MMA Double Champion, w ...

at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana on October 4, 2020. The bout ended in a split draw, which drew ire with most of the media scoring it for Jourdain. Culibao faced

Shayilan Nuerdanbieke Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (born May 4, 1994 kk, Нұрданбек Сайран) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Nuerdanbieke comes from the Ili Kazakh Aut ...

at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt on May 22, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Culibao was scheduled to face

Damon Jackson Damon Blake Jackson (born August 8, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2012, Jackson competed for Bellator MMA and King of the Cag ...

on March 12, 2022

UFC Fight Night 203 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 203'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 61'' or ''UFC Vegas 50'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 12, 2022 at the U ...

. However, Culibao was pulled from the event for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by Kamuela Kirk. Culibao faced

Seung Woo Choi Choi Seung-woo ( ko, 최승우; born November 3, 1992), often anglicized Seung Woo Choi, is a Korean mixed martial artist (MMA). Choi was the former Top Fighting Championship Featherweight Champion (Two times) and 2010 Bronze medalist at Muay ...

on June 11, 2022 at

UFC 275 ''UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Procházka'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Champi ...

. After knocking his opponent down multiple times during the fight, Culibao won the bout via split decision. Culibao faced

Melsik Baghdasaryan Melsik Baghdasaryan (born January 28, 1992) is an Armenian mixed martial artist, kickboxer and boxer, currently competing as a featherweight in the UFC. A professional competitor since 2013, he is the former Wu Lin Feng International champion, a ...

on February 12, 2023, at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promot ...

. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. Culibao faced

Lerone Murphy Lerone Murphy (born July 22, 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Murphy, who was born and raised in Old Trafford, went to St Edward's Primary Sch ...

on July 22, 2023 at

UFC on ESPN+ 82 ''UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 224'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 82'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 22, 2023, at The O2 Arena in L ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

*Hex Fight Series **HEX Featherweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense *Diamondback FC **DFC Featherweight Championship (one time; former) *Superfight MMA **Superfight MMA Featherweight Championship (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

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Choi Seung-woo Choi Seung-woo (born December 19, 1989, Ansan Ansan (Hangeul: , ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul National Capital Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway L ...

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Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the n ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1–1 ,

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

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North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colon ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , James McGlashan , Decision (majority) , Urban Fight Night 13 , , align=Center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

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Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

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, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brad Shortland , Decision (majority) , Urban Fight Night 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Paul Traish , TKO (punches) , Superfight MMA 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 , Sydney, Australia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Culibao, Joshua 1994 births Living people Australian male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Sydney Australian male taekwondo practitioners Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian people of Filipino descent Sportspeople of Filipino descent Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu